August, 27 2009, 02:21pm EDT
International Tribunal Takes Up Case of Innocent Victim of CIA Extraordinary Rendition Program
Petition Filed by ACLU Seeking Justice for Kidnapping and Torture of Khaled El-Masri Moves Forward
NEW YORK
The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has accepted a
petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of
Khaled El-Masri, an innocent victim of the CIA's extraordinary
rendition program. The U.S. government has two months to respond to
allegations of kidnapping and torture summarily rejected by U.S. courts
in 2007.
"The United States has an
opportunity to reverse one of the most shameful legacies of the Bush
administration and finally give an innocent victim of the extraordinary
rendition program his day in court," said Steven Watt, senior staff
attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program. "The State Department
should fully engage in this process and comprehensively address the
gross violation of El-Masri's human rights, including his forcible
disappearance and torture. To date, the United States hasn't so much as
acknowledged its involvement in El-Masri's extraordinary rendition."
In 2003, El-Masri, a German citizen,
was kidnapped and flown to a CIA-run "black site" in Afghanistan, where
he was secretly detained and tortured for months. Although his
innocence was clear soon after his detention, the CIA continued to hold
El-Masri for four months before flying him to Albania and abandoning
him on a hillside in the dead of night. El-Masri has never been charged
with a crime.
In 2005, the ACLU sued former CIA
Director George Tenet and three U.S.-based aviation corporations that
owned or operated the aircraft used by the CIA to render El-Masri to
Afghanistan. The lawsuit charged Tenet and others with violating the
U.S. Constitution and universal human rights laws. In March 2007, a
federal appeals court dismissed the lawsuit because of the government's
assertion of the "state secrets" privilege. The U.S. Supreme Court let
that decision stand when it refused to hear the case in October 2007.
"The United States, which has
historically been a leader in ensuring access to justice for human
rights violations around the world, has effectively closed the
courtroom door to all victims of the Bush administration's torture
regime," said Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU National
Security Project. "To date, not a single victim of torture by the U.S.
has had his day in court. A review of Mr. El-Masri's case by the IACHR
will shed much-needed light on the abuses perpetrated against him and
will finally offer a victim of the U.S. torture and rendition program a
venue in which his claims can be meaningfully addressed."
The Obama administration recently
announced that it will continue to render individuals it suspects of
involvement in terrorism to detention in other countries, but that it
will monitor all cases to ensure that suspects are not mistreated.
"Any transfer of detainees in U.S.
custody to other countries must fully comply with domestic and
international human rights law," said Jennifer Turner, researcher with
the ACLU Human Rights Program. "Examining the Bush administration
rendition program and holding accountable those who broke the law will
help to ensure that the same mistakes aren't repeated by the Obama
administration."
The IACHR is an autonomous body
created by mandate of the Organization of American States to promote
and protect human rights in the Americas. The ACLU petition asks that
the IACHR declare that the extraordinary rendition program violates the
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; to find the U.S.
responsible for violating El-Masri's rights under that declaration; and
to recommend that the U.S. publicly acknowledge and apologize for its
role in violating El-Masri's rights through forcible disappearance,
arbitrary detention and torture.
Attorneys filing the petition on
El-Masri's behalf are Watt, Turner and Jamil Dakwar of the ACLU Human
Rights Program and Wizner and Melissa Goodman of the ACLU National
Security Project.
The ACLU's petition is available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/34837lgl20080409.html
More information about Khaled
El-Masri and the ACLU's work to end the CIA's extraordinary rendition
program is available online here: www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/rendition.html
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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'Macron Resign!' French Protests Intensify Over Attempt to Force Retirement Age Hike
"This forced passage with the use of Article 49.3 must be met with a response in line with this show of contempt toward the people," declared one union leader as MPs introduced no-confidence motions.
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Protests in Paris and across France have ramped up since President Emmanuel Macron's government on Thursday used a controversial constitutional measure to force through a pension reform plan without a National Assembly vote.
Fears that the Senate-approved measure—which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64—did not have enough support to pass the lower house of Parliament led to a Council of Ministers meeting, during which Macron reportedly said that "my political interest would have been to submit to a vote… But I consider that the financial, economic risks are too great at this stage."
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After the meeting, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the decision to go with the "nuclear option," invoking Article 49.3 of the French Constitution—a calculated risk considering the potential for a resulting motion of no-confidence.
Members of Parliament opposed to the overhaul filed a pair of no-confidence motions on Friday, and votes are expected on Monday. Although unlikely, given the current makeup of the legislature, passing such a motion would not only reject the looming pension law but also oust Macron's prime minister and Cabinet, and likely lead to early elections in France.
As Deutsche Wellereported:
"The vote on this motion will allow us to get out on top of a deep political crisis," said the head of the so-called LIOT group Bertrand Pancher, whose motion was co-signed by members of the broad left-wing NUPES coalition.
The far-right National Rally (RN) filed a second motion, but that was expected to get less backing. RN lawmaker Laure Lavalette however said her party would vote for "all" no-confidence motions filed. "What counts is scuppering this unfair reform bill," she said.
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Not long after Borne's Article 49.3 announcement on Thursday, "protesters began to converge on the sprawling Place de la Concorde in central Paris, a mere bridge away from the heavily guarded National Assembly," according toFrance 24.
As the news outlet detailed:
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Police used tear gas to disperse the Concorde crowd. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told RTL radio 310 people were arrested nationwide—258 of them in Paris. He said, "The opposition is legitimate, the protests are legitimate, but wreaking havoc is not."
Anna Neiva Cardante is a 23-year-old student whose parents, a bricklayer and a cleaner, "are among those who stand to lose most."
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Across the French capital early Friday, "traffic, garbage collection, and university campuses in the city were disrupted, as unions threatened open-ended strikes," DW noted. "Elsewhere in the country, striking sanitation workers blocked a waste collection plant that is home to Europe's largest incinerator to underline their determination."
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Philippe Martinez of the CGT union asserted that "this forced passage with the use of Article 49.3 must be met with a response in line with this show of contempt toward the people."
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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Friday marked the upcoming 20th anniversary of the George W. Bush administration's invasion of Iraq—where thousands of U.S. troops remain today—by asking if Americans have learned anything from the "failed war of aggression" and warning that waging another such war will have even more dire consequences.
In a Twitter thread, Omar (D-Minn.) asserted that "20 years later, the Iraq War remains the biggest foreign policy disaster of our generation, one that took thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives."
As Common Dreamsreported Wednesday, the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs estimates as many as 580,000 people were killed in Iraq and Syria since 2003 and nearly 15 million people were made refugees or internally displaced by the war—which is forecast to cost a staggering $2.9 trillion by 2050.
The war was waged—under false pretenses against a country that had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks—by neoconservative Republicans in the Bush administration who since before 9/11 had sought a way to invade Iraq and oust erstwhile ally Saddam Hussein. The horrors of war and occupation included torture, indiscriminate killing, sex crimes, environmental devastation, and soaring birth defects caused by the use of depleted uranium weapons.
What then-White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer called Operation Iraqi Liberation—OIL—devastated much of Iraq but enriched multinational corporations while creating a power vacuum that was eventually filled by Islamic State, whose rise to power in much of Iraq and neighboring Syria led to a second phase of the war launched during the administration of former President Barack Obama that continues today.
"Have we fully learned the lessons from this failed war of aggression, or are we doomed to repeat it?" Omar asked.
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Our spending on Pentagon waste and new weapons continues to rise uncontrollably—with weapons contractors wielding more lobbying power than ever in Washington.
Our national media too often treat war as a game—a way to juice ratings as fewer Americans turn into TV news—rather than the most horrific state of conditions to be avoided at all costs.
Claims from senior national security officials are reported as fact, even when no evidence for those claims is presented.
Much like the lost Iraqi lives lost were often ignored 20 years ago, we continue to ignore the pain and suffering of Black and Brown people in places like Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Haiti, and more.
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"As Pacific leaders shoulder the burden of climate leadership," this call "is a reminder that despite the doom and gloom, another world is possible, a fossil fuel-free world that is just, equitable, and sustainable."
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Climate justice advocates celebrated Friday after a half-dozen island nations committed to building a "fossil fuel-free Pacific" and urged all governments to join them in bringing about an equitable phaseout of coal, oil, and gas.
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The resolution—issued "on behalf of present and future generations, communities on the frontlines, and all of humanity"—calls for immediate international action to accelerate a just transition from dirty to clean energy in accordance with what experts have shown is necessary to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
"The science is clear that fossil fuels are to blame for the climate emergency," says the document. "This is a crisis driven by the greed of an exploitative industry and its enablers. It is not acceptable that countries and companies are still planning on producing more than double the amount of fossil fuels by 2030 than the world can burn to limit warming to 1.5°C."
"Every second wasted on climate inaction and clinging to fossil fuels puts lives, homes, livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystems in jeopardy."
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In a statement, Oil Change International global policy lead Romain Ioualalen said, "Faced with devastating climate impacts resulting from the world's continued addiction to fossil fuels, Pacific governments have once again demonstrated what true leadership looks like."
"The contrast between the U.S. and other rich countries approving new oil and gas fields in clear defiance of science, and the commitment to build a prosperous and resilient fossil fuel-free Pacific could not be more obvious and highlights the complete disregard the fossil fuel industry and its enablers have for people and communities most affected by the climate crisis," said Ioualalen. "Countries must urgently heed the call for an immediate end to fossil fuel expansion that is emanating from the Pacific. We look forward to Pacific countries continuing to be vocal champions for a just and equitable phaseout of fossil fuels on the global stage, including at COP28 later this year."
Samoan climate justice activist Brianna Fruean said that "this dialogue of Pacific ministers is stepping outside of the box and acknowledging that we must try new ways to save ourselves—and that is going to require a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty."
"While the guilty continue to reap profit off the expansion of fossil fuels behind our backs," said Fruean, "the meeting is bringing renewed energy to Pacific leadership that will not just echo across our islands but drive action with our allies globally."
Despite bearing almost no historical responsibility for the climate crisis, Pacific Islanders are acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather. Policymakers from the region have long been leaders in demanding ambitious efforts to slash greenhouse gas pollution at speed and scale, including by putting the idea of a FFNPT on the table in 2016. Just last year, Vanuatu and Tuvalu became the first national governments to endorse such a measure, while Tuvalu also recently joined the BOGA as a core member.
"Every second wasted on climate inaction and clinging to fossil fuels puts lives, homes, livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystems in jeopardy," said Lavetanalagi Seru, regional policy coordinator at Pacific Islands Climate Action Network. "As Pacific leaders shoulder the burden of climate leadership, the Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel-Free Pacific is a reminder that despite the doom and gloom, another world is possible, a fossil fuel-free world that is just, equitable, and sustainable."
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In recent weeks, Vanuatu has been leading an ongoing push for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on "how existing international laws can be applied to strengthen action on climate change, protect people and the environment, and save the Paris agreement."
The document unveiled Friday calls for "redoubled efforts to reaffirm, strengthen, and codify legal obligations with respect to the global phaseout of fossil fuels," including by supporting the adoption of the Vanuatu-led ICJ resolution at the meeting of the U.N. General Assembly at the end of this month.
"The contrast between the U.S. and other rich countries approving new oil and gas fields in clear defiance of science, and the commitment to build a prosperous and resilient fossil fuel-free Pacific could not be more obvious."
According to Seru, "The phaseout of fossil fuels is not only a challenge, but an opportunity to promote economic development and innovation in the Pacific region."
To that end, the Port Vila document calls for "new Pacific-tailored development pathways based on 100% renewable energy."
350.org Pacific managing director Joseph Sikulu welcomed this week's developments, saying in a statement that "our people need global leaders to follow the innovation of Pacific representatives at the Pacific Ministerial Dialogue, it is a matter of survival."
"Our people also need energy to power their homes, their fishing boats, and their schools, which is where we are ready to work with governments in their commitment to progress the development and implementation of fossil-free development pathways at the grassroots level," he added.
In order to make that a reality, the document calls for increasing "public and private finance for the just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy at the scale required, with innovative, simplified mechanisms and reforms of existing financial institutions."
Cansin Leylim, 350.org associate director of global campaigns, applauded Pacific Island nations for "once again showing immense leadership in the fight against the climate crisis, a crisis they had no part in creating."
"Pacific leaders have told us time and again—in order to stay below 1.5°C, the historically responsible countries need to immediately commit to a fossil fuel-free future without loopholes," said Leylim. "This means ensuring adequate and grant-based climate finance is swiftly mobilized to both adapt to the crisis and limit the heating to survival limits, ensuring energy independence and resource resilience with renewable energy."
Tzeporah Berman, chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, predicted that this week's "historic meeting" will "have far-reaching consequences."
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